“Starting from here and walking over there while chatting in a lively tone is the way to go! When you reach the ‘X’ marked spot on the ground, the stuntman will pull you, NoName, into the car, so don’t resist and just naturally get dragged in, okay? Easy, right?”
“Yeah, I’ll give it a try.”
I dropped the script and climbed up onto the set.
The stuntman playing the captor gave a small nod in greeting.
Suddenly, a thought struck me.
What does a lively tone even mean? How do I naturally fall over?
“I’ll try it out. Ready, action!”
Without time to think, the action sign was dropped.
Following the script, I plugged in my earphones and walked down the street while talking on the phone.
“I made a carnation today for my mom at school. But the kids used up all the red paper, so I made it in blue. Is that okay?”
[A blue carnation? That’s a bit weird, huh?]
“Really? Then I will stop by the stationery store to buy red paper and make it again at home.”
I turned around to head back.
Just then, the door of a slow-moving van creaked open.
Hostage-takers dressed entirely in black stretched out their hands.
“I learned how to fold carnations from my teacher, so I know how to— Eek!”
A man lifted me up, and I landed snugly on a soft seat.
“Cut, cut! NoName, it’s all good, but there are a few things we need to fix. Can you come over for a sec?”
The music video director frowned with a dissatisfied expression.
While the hair designer fixed my messy hair, I watched the footage we just shot.
“First of all, there was too little liveliness. I’d like it to be around 300%, no, 500% more lively! And also, your scream in the kidnapping scene seemed too forced.”
“How should I change it?”
“Hmmm… Oh, right! Min-su, play that video you showed earlier.”
“Sure thing, Director.”
The director played the video and brought the megaphone close to the speaker.
[Tada! This is the ultimate gift I’ve chosen for you~ In~ Goyang!]
“…!”
The voice echoed throughout the set.
Laughter erupted from everywhere.
“Yes, this is it! This purity, this liveliness! If you just do it like this, NoName, I’d have no complaints!”
“Well, um…”
“You can do it, right?”
“Yeah…”
“Please scream with a bit more sincerity too. Alright, let’s all get back to our places with renewed energy!”
I took a deep breath and stood back under the lights.
Pure, lively, natural.
After all, if I mess it up and try awkwardly, I’ll have to do it all over again.
“I made a carnation today for my mom— woo-hoo—! But you know… the kids used up all the red paper, so I made it in blue. Is that okay?”
I emphasized the ‘Ka’ from carnation and the ‘Pa’ from blue.
“Really? Ah! Then! I’ll stop by the stationery store to buy red paper and make it again at home! Woo-hoo!”
To match the somewhat cute voice I was trying to imitate, I raised my pitch by at least two keys.
“I learned how to fold carnations from my teacher— Aaaah!”
As I screamed, I imagined the most horrifying scene I could think of.
Visualizing dismemberment and eyeballs popping out had no effect anymore since I’d seen it too many times.
Instead, the thought of my stepbrother Hiasen being pregnant in a man’s body was the most outrageous image I could conjure.
Ugh, that’s so gross I feel like throwing up.
“Okay, cut! Everyone give a round of applause! You really surpassed my expectations on feedback at once!”
I staggered out of the van.
I should have just imagined a plain old gory scene.
After that, I watched the final version of the music video we had previously shot.
It was a short film-style music video that was trending again these days.
A chaebol kid gets kidnapped by a mafia organization, and the mother immediately reports it to the police.
To save the child, special squad NV members filmed action noir in various locations.
Continuing to watch the lyrics of “hostage,” it clearly illustrated the love between the couple likened to a hostage situation.
The kidnapped child metaphorically expressed pure love, I bet.
As the song reached its climax, the NV members successfully located the mafia hideout but fell into a trap leading them right to the boss.
“Hey look, NoName, here comes the plot twist!”
The youngest member, White, pointed at the screen, humming along to the song.
The desperate screams of the mafia members were heard, and as the front door burst open, the kidnapped child appeared.
“What? I thought they were kidnapped and here they are just fine?”
Not just fine.
The child performed almost unbelievable actions against the vicious mafia members and rescued the squad.
“That chaebol kid was actually a spy planted by us! Haha, how’s that for a twist in our music video?”
“It’s a bit forced, but at least the meaning comes across clearly.”
“Yeah?”
“The partner captured the pure love of their significant other and manipulated them however they wanted, but in fact, it was they who had the power and tested the other from the start. That’s the nuance, right?”
“Wow! NoName, you’re a genius! How did you grasp such a difficult concept all at once? So cool!”
“That’s why we couldn’t use a child actor.”
The kid in the music video was actually a stuntman using a child avatar in virtual reality.
The part that Producer Kang Ji-hoon didn’t like was because of this unnaturalness.
In the end, we had to re-shoot the music video, even paying extra to the production company, so the responsibility placed on me was heavy.
The filming staff, finishing up the set arrangement, started bustling around.
“NoName, can you lift your arm for a moment? I’ll attach a wire to you.”
“Director, can’t I act without the wire? I don’t see any moves that look that difficult.”
“Can you just do that? You’re supposed to climb walls and fly around! Stunt team, gather everyone here!”
Five foreign stuntmen in mafia costumes gathered at the set.
“NoName, could you demonstrate some light action with these guys?”
I followed the route shown in the earlier video and called the men over.
“First, I think the scene where the guy dives toward me was the first one, right?”
“Yeah. Do you really think you can do it? What if you get hurt…”
“I’m more worried I’d hurt you! I’m totally fine, so you can dive at full speed.”
I reassured the stuntman and took my stance.
The man seemed still unsure, bobbing his head but ultimately teeth gritted as if he’d steeled himself.
“No letting him escape! Surround him and catch him! Aaaahhh- Haahap!”
The stuntman shouted in a cheesy Italian accent and charged forward, the ground vibrating with his footsteps.
They all know how to use their aura, so they should be able to protect themselves well enough.
I stood still, waiting for his foot to hit the ground.
‘Now!’
I exerted strong force on my left foot and swiftly twisted my body to the right.
I shoved his annoying arm aside with my left hand and grabbed the back of his head with my right.
I slammed his head down into the ground.
Quaaak-!
Thanks to the momentum generated from his mass, he slid across the floor, face first.
The director, who had been sitting on a folding camp chair, jumped up and tossed his sunglasses.
“Whoa!”
A gasp of amazement erupted from deep within my chest.
The director clapped wildly and jumped into the set.
“NoName! Let’s shoot quickly before that adrenaline wears off! How could you perfectly execute such a heart-pounding action? I have goosebumps all over!”
*
While being chased by the mafia, Hayan, Rani, Yuju, and White opened different doors and gathered in one room.
It’s no coincidence that they all gathered at the same time in the same room.
Without letting their guard down, they pressed their backs against each other and scanned the surroundings.
Creeeak-
The chair in front of the massive desk spun around.
The mafia boss set down the cigar he was chewing and trapped them in a barrier.
[Casting: Unique Barrier – Flower of Blood]
A translucent red cubic curtain was erected.
The boss planned to plant a bomb in the ceiling and crush them with cement debris.
Just then, a chaotic scream rang from outside.
Boom-!
As the front door flung open, NoName appeared, twisting its neck from side to side before them.
The organization members guarding the office were all down and out, passed out.
The boss frowned and clicked his tongue.
“Tsk, I had suspected there was a spy planted in our ranks, but I never imagined it would be you. Who would’ve thought it was the very hostage we were holding? Deal with them.”
“Old boss!”
The command of the head of the Corleonesi Family, a group that inflicted unprecedented terror throughout Italy.
The five closest organization members lunged at NoName.
The scene that unfolded was over in an instant.
The biggest member launched himself at NoName, who dodged with nimble footwork and drove his face into the ground.
Without a moment’s rest, two mafia members attacked from both sides.
Cornered, NoName took off their shoes and created spiky aura on their soles.
Then they ran straight towards the wall, scaling it.
Thud thud thud thud-!
With each step NoName took, sharp holes punctured the wall.
They landed lightly in a backflip, returning to the center of the room.
Though they escaped the encirclement, the battle was far from over.
The organization members, not going easy on them for being just a child, unleashed punches and kicks mercilessly.
NoName’s eyes glimmered like a tiger’s.
Wham-
The dizzying hits they threw were followed until the end, skillfully maintaining a crucial distance and dodging.
“Gahhhhhh!”
Furthermore, the power coming from those delicate hands defied common sense.
One organization member was sent crashing into the wall, doubled over as if made of paper after taking a gut hit.
“Such a nuisance…!”
In a short moment, four elite members had already fallen victim.
No attack ever seemed to land as only the destructive force overwhelmed them.
The boss fled in panic right before the eyes.
NoName swiftly chased after him, gathering power in their legs to jump.
Wrapping their thighs around the neck of the tall man, they knocked him down, ensuring he was rendered unconscious.
As the situation turned around, the boss smashed the chandelier and attempted to flee the room.
However, at that moment, the magical barrier broke, revealing the NV members’ talents.
Yuju and White cast a curtain to protect NoName, while Rani fashioned a lasso knot to capture the boss.
Finally, the leader Hayan landed a blow on the struggling boss, completing the operation splendidly.
With that, we finally reached a moment of respite.
NoName collapsed onto the floor, sitting atop the members.
“Well done, team.”
The NV members stared at NoName in disbelief.
“You were Code Name Artemis?”
NoName closed up the space.
NoName didn’t know the detailed setting of the world where NV operated.
So they merely delivered the lines assigned to them.
“Hehe, you were fooled by a human.”
With a mischievous grin, NoName flicked their long hair and laughed at everyone.
As they faded out, the scene gradually darkened.
There was never a hostage to begin with.
[envy NV ‘Hostage’ MV] [Released 5 days 23:51:49 ago]
*
“You’re dead to me today, Cheon Saetbyeol.”
“Gahhhhh! Wait, pause! Ahhh, it hurts! Why are you doing this to me?”
“Why? Do you even know the humiliation I suffered today from people? I warned you that if you upload such a video just one more time, be prepared!”
“*Gaaah! Ughhh, wait…! Ouch! Don’t pinch my belly fat, ahhhh! I’m gonna die like a cat!”
